Bunny’s TMI

We finished off the last of the most recent batch of bars from CostPlus World Market yesterday. I don’t really like their truffles, so I wasn’t expecting to like this bar, but I think it’s been one of the best so far. Part of the problem with their truffles might be that the only ones people seem to buy are the milk and white chocolate, I don’t even know if they have dark truffles.

We got the Lindt Excellence Chili Dark. It had a good dark flavor without being bitter, and the chili hit just the right balance of being firey, but not overwhelming the chocolate. It was also nice and smooth and soft. They don’t list the percentage, so it’s probably on the lower end of dark to get that texture. This is definitely one I’d be happy getting again.

We had dinner with a bunch of friends at Ricksha (I can never recall how they spell it, Rickshaw? Meh) for their $1 sushi night. Their list is really short though so I ended up having koroke and edamame to round out my dinner. They close at 9pm so we actually got home and to bed at a decent time. I even managed to still do my five minutes of exercise in spite of my headache/migraine. I have just under an hour till I have to leave, but I want to bake cookies for a friend coming into town tonight from Reno, and the ones I want to make need at least an hour to chill in the fridge, so I’m off!

The second batch of chocolate bars from CostPlus.

The NewTree Forgiveness (Dark chocolate with lemon).
You’d think this would be good, but the flavor just didn’t do it for me. Part of it was that it was a really hard and dry chocolate. I tried melting it to soften it up but accidentally burnt it, so I don’t know if that would have helped. And I didn’t like it enough to bother trying it again.

The Hachez Cocoa D’Arriba (77% cacao with mango & chili). We normally like the chili ones, and we both do like mangos, but this one kinda flopped. The chili is hardly noticable while the mango is strong - but seems over sweet or artificial (though the ingredient only lists natural mango flavor and nothing artificial).

We also recently tried the World’s Finest Chocolate W.F. Crisp (milk chocolate with crisped rice) that HK’s cousin gave us. I actually liked that, the chocolate was thick and smooth, with a good balance of crunch. The mints and caramels were good too. They disappeared in one day at work, and I couldn’t resist having two or three of each.

We ended up melting the crisp and the D’Arriba to use for fondue, which worked out fairly well.

Still have one more bar to try before stocking up again.

Or at least from CostPlus World Market.

I need to write this down before I forget. Last time we stocked up on chocolate bars from there we got:

• Dagoba Xocolatl 74% Chilies and Nibs
  - We share this with friends and I didn’t give it proper attention. I remember liking it but not being wowed by it.
• Ghirardelli Espresso Escape™ - This was good, but not as good as I expected for some reason. Maybe a tad too bitter with the coffee and dark chocolate.
• Chuao Spicy Maya Bar - First spicy chocolate I’ve been disappointed in. The best I can say is that it was ok. I think I might even like Dove’s plain dark chocolate better. Plus their web site sucks. Frames = not good.

We just picked up three more today, so hopefully I’ll remember to blog them as we try them. We got a lemon dark chocolate, mango & chili dark chocolate, and another spicy dark chocolate.

So far though the Vosges Fire is our favorite of the spicy chocolate bars.

I think we’ve both figured out after the Scharffen Berger factory tour that we like flavored darks the best, though a plain semi-dark is still better than a flavored milk chocolate. The darkest one on the tour was just a bit too dark. But I enjoy milk chocolate when it’s with other flavors I like. I had the Ghirardelli holiday pack, and surprisingly I like the peppermint one the best, the almond second and the eggnog third. I thought it would be the exact opposite order.

I’ve had really good luck with this before, so I did my spreadsheet method for this round. I took my recipe and five other similar ones and made a spreadsheet of ingredients and amounts. Depending on the ingredient I either took the minimum, maximum or rounded the average amount. And in some cases I then converted it to the healthier substitutions. We’ll see how it goes!

3 cups oats
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tablespoon molasses
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 to 2 cups nuts
1/2 to 1 cup chips
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup fruit
1 cup jam (only trying it in the middle of half the bars)

Beat wet ingredients in a larger mixer bowl.
Gradually beat in dry ingredients. I just toss in everything but the flour, then add the flour 1/4 cup at a time.
Stir in oats, then nuts, fruit and chips.
Spread dough into greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 jelly-roll pan. I used my 10 x 13 (4qt) glass baking pan.
Cook at 325°F for 30 - 40 minutes. Should be lightly golden.
Cool completely before cutting into bars.

I’ve had enough people ask for this (and seen enough similar things on the web) that I figured I’d put this up for posterity.

A few years ago when I worked at the Edward Kemble Elementary School Library they had a special book sale for the staff. Among other books, I purchased Christmas Cookies - Classic Recipes.

I love oatmeal peanut butter cookies, but didn’t have a recipe for them in any of my cookie recipe books. This one did however have a recipe for Oatmeal Scotchies that looked good.

I switched half the butter for peanut butter, one cup of oats for nuts, and added a cup of chocolate chips (I hate cookies that are just a lot of dough and a little stuff. And yet I love sugar cookies, butter cookies, spritz cookies, etc. I guess I just want there to either be a LOT of “stuff” or none.

After some friends watched me bake these once, and asked what they were called. I didn’t have a name, and they weren’t really oatmeal scotchies anymore, so they came up with “Everything Cookies” since I seemed to put everything (but fruit! I don’t like fruit in cookies) in them. Seeing them in dough form they were amazed that the cookies stayed together which how much stuff was in them.

These are pretty flexible, I use whatever nuts I have on hand, and whatever chocolately bits. I’ve even chopped up Hershey Kisses when we didn’t have chocolate chips.

Jenny’s Everything Cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (I usually soften it in the microwave)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I usually use chunky for extra nuttiness)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs (I almost always use liquid eggs when baking, easier and healthier)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I swap half or all the vanilla for almond extract)
1 cup chopped/sliced/slivered nuts (I prefer almond)
1 to 2 cup chips (I usually mix milk & dark/semi-sweet & butterscotch chips)
2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
Raw sugar to roll them in (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. I’m lazy and always skip this - one less messy dish to clean!
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a larger mixer bowl. I love my KitchenAid!
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture. I just toss in everything but the flour, then add the flour 1/4 cup at a time.
4. Stir in oats, then nuts and chips.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. I usually just eyeball it and roll them into balls, but even if I use a tablespoon I always roll them into balls to help them stick together.
6. This year I had raw sugar left over from rolling other cookies, so I rolled these ones into it and it gave them a nice crunch on the outside.
7. It’s ok to flatten the cookies also if you like how that looks better.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 375°F. oven for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies; 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies.

It’s supposed to make about 4 dozen cookies.

So far everyone has agreed with me that the chewy taste best, but even if I overcook them and get harder ones, they still all get eaten. Be sure to preheat or you won’t be sure about the timing! Chewy ones won’t look done with they come out of the oven, but just let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2 to 10 minutes, once them come off easily with a spatula without smooshing then they’re ready. Though I’m happy to eat them hot and smooshy/crumbly. The perks and hazards of being the cook!

The recipe also had an option for pan cookies, and after looking at how much sugar (including high fructose corn syrup) was in the Nature Valley granola bars I loved, I decided to see if I could doctor this into a granola bar recipe.

Round 1 Everything Granola Bars
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (I almost always use liquid eggs when baking, easier and healthier)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I swap half or all the vanilla for almond extract)
3 cups oats
3 teaspoons ground flax seed
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Most of the fruit/nut/chip amounts were based on what I happened to have left in the cupboards.

Mix the same way as the cookies.

1. Spread dough into greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 jelly-roll pan. I used my 10 x 13 (4qt) glass baking pan.
2. Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 18 to 22 minutes or until very lightly browned.
3. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

It’s supposed to make 4 dozen bars. I don’t recall how many pieces we cut that one into. Everyone really liked it, but I think it had room for improvement. I’m not sure if it just needs way more fruit and nuts, or if the other parts need tweaking. The flavor was good, mostly it was the texture I wasn’t satisfied with. It was in between crunchy and chewy, and I want one or the other. I just haven’t decided which.

I’m working on round two of the recipe today.

Lets see… actually mailed all Christmas cards BEFORE Christmas for the first time ever!

The office is all decorated, including my desk, and people have started adding to my penguin collection.

Last weekend was San Jose to have lunch with my pirate’s parents for his birthday. Then a nice nap followed by a holiday party in Redwood City. Lots of good food, conversation and a fun white elephant exchange. Sadly I didn’t find my pirate’s bears from last year till the next day. So they’ll have to wait till next year to pass on!

The next day we had dinner with his cousin & family and had a great time. I made the slow cooker chicken again (without the insane lemon this time!) and we’ve been having leftovers all week.

I found some pilates videos I liked at the library - the Gaiam dvds by Ana Caban. So those are on my Amazon wish list to get at some point.

I also got my Amazon gift card in the mail so the last Harry Potter book should be showing up soon.

This coming weekend is going to be relax time and chore time. Which will be great after so many busy weekends! Oh, and I’m donating blood tomorrow morning. I can make the early appointments now since I can take time off work to volunteer.

The weekend after Thanksgiving I had my annual holiday/cookie party. I really enjoyed it so much more this year since I didn’t spend the whole time baking. Wednesday night I made the dough for the Chocolate Pepper cookies, Thursday night I did the dough for the stained glass window cookies and Friday night I made the dough and cooked the lemon spritz cookies since you’re not supposed to refrigerate the dough. So on Saturday all I had left was the final baking for the dough, and making my everything cookies.

I used up the promise buttery spread I had, which was good, but I think I’ll stick with real butter for baking in the future, I don’t think the spritz cookies turned out quite as well as they usually do. And I think next time I’m going to try making them as lime or lemon/lime.

The chocolate pepper ones turned out well, though not quite as good as I remember SP’s being last year, but super rich, so I’m not sure if I’ll make them again.

The stained glass window cookies are pretty, but too much of a pain to do again. I might try them one more time as a bar/sheet cookie with the lifesavers crushed and sprinkled on top though because they really are tasty.

The everything (but fruit) cookies were the favorite as always, this year I rolled them in the raw sugar that was left over from the chocolate pepper cookies which gave them a nice crunch. I might do them half that way from now on.

The gift exchange was fun, I got a cute penguin mug that matches my cookie jar. Everyone was good about bringing yummy or useful stuff.

Sunday we went ice skating with friends. I don’t remember the last time I did it, but it was my pirate’s first time so we were teaching him. He did really well and I had a great time. We relaxed the rest of the evening after that.

Monday night my brother came to visit, so we hung out, talked and played WiiPlay, and he got me into Sudoku on his DS. It almost makes me want one, but I know I wouldn’t have time for it.

Tuesday night I got a bunch of freelance work done, with some left to do this week or weekend.

I’ve also been going through the pilates videos the library has and found some that I liked, so tonight I have a stack to return and a few more to pick up.

I woke up with a pretty bad headache, but I did some yoga for about 15 minutes and that helped a ton. I still have a very mild ache, but it’s hardly noticeable.

Khalua is being cute and doing her jellybean/”I have no legs” impression, which I would have taken a picture of, but she moved before I could.

Anyway, it’s good to be caught up somewhat, but time to head back to work!

The thing I’m most thankful for is the abundance of wonderful people in my life for me to love! *hugs*

The chocolate factory tour was educational, interesting and yummy! Lunch at their cafe afterwards was tasty, and we followed that up with wandering 4th Street in Berkeley and then Emery Bay Street Mall and dinner there at Askew (a kabob place - I got yummy grilled artichoke and butternut squash soup).

I don’t recall too much of Sunday, we watched some anime and avatar online, and then went to get the ring! After that I was kinda in a giddy cloud. We did stop by REI which was nearby and they had a hang board of the right color in stock! We’ve been looking for a month or two now for one in a color I wouldn’t mind installing. So now we just have to find a couple studs above a doorway to install it. I dragged my pirate around the Expo Design Center some too before we headed home.

Monday night my friend JG took me out and got us both french manicures (since I’ll be showing off my hand for a while yet!) and then to dinner where we looked mostly at wedding dresses in magazines. We have a lot of similar tastes we discovered when discussing wedding ideas.

Tuesday night I cooked my carrots vichy recipe and my sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving. I replaced have the sweetpotato with a butternut squash I needed to use up, and I accidentally dropped somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of pepper in (I was trying to only tap one shake in) but luckily I had decided to use the black and white pepper I have which is milder. So it actually turned out really well. I think so at least, which is good since I’m going to be eating leftovers from it for the next week.

Wednesday night we were allowed to go home early, which for me ended up being around 5:30. By 6:30 we left to drive to San Jose.

This morning we all piled in the car and headed to Santa Rosa. It took about 2 and a half hours and traffic wasn’t too bad. Getting onto the Golden Gate Bridge and the Novato Narrows were the only bad spots. My brother was able to join us in time for dinner, and we just barely managed to fit everyone at the table except for my future step-father. He stood in the kitchen next to us eating and serving the food. Everything was good and we all had a good time talking and laughing. I think if we can eat together and laugh together, our families are going to get along just fine. We went for a walk after dinner and my pirate gave the dogs a run like we’ve gotten into the habit of doing when we’re with my mom. The dogs love it and my pirate usually has the energy to spare. We had pie and Belgian chocolates for dessert and then headed out. I got dropped off at home to take care of the kitties (who are all curled up in bed with me now) and my pirate and his family headed back to San Jose.

I’ll miss him, but I want to go through the wedding books my mom lent me and also get my Christmas cards done, along with laundry and some other chores and projects.

Time to do some reading and kitty cuddling!

Things have been interesting the last couple days. I biked with my pirate to the ARC Thursday morning, but had to bike back once we got there. On the way home a guy fell coming down the steep part of the Putah Creek Undercrossing. He got scratched up pretty bad so I asked him to come home with me so I could patch him up. So my first aid kit finally came in handy, as did my athletic tape to keep the gauze pads on. Then work was crazy busy all day. On the way back to work from lunch, a huge branch cracked and fell from one of the olive trees lining the exit drive. Luckily no one and nothing really got hurt, but the little kids playing outside and I were really startled. I stayed a few minutes after work to change Jin’s water. I’m starting to get good at it. It’s tricky getting him out of his big vase into the little one I use for him when I clean and refresh the water in his big one.

Friday was more normal, though still really busy at work.

And today we’re going to the Scharffenberger chocolate factory tour! Wheeeee!